Cushioned package of fragile articles



1950 s. T. v. COWEN ETAL 2,518,450

CUSHIONED PACKAGE 0F FRAGILE ARTICLES Filed Nov. 8, 1944 FIG, 2.

INVENTOR. S EY T. V COWEN M RRIS A. SHRIRO ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 15,1950

CIUSTHIONED- PACKAGE F FRAGILE ARTICLES Sidney T. v. Cowen, Asbury Park, and Morris A.

Shriro, Elberon, N. J., assignors to the United States of America as represented by the Secretary of War Application November 8, 1944, Serial No. 562,540

1 Claim. (Cl. 206-65) (Granted under the act of March 3, 1883, as

A l The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the payment to us of any royalty thereon.

"This; invention relates to improvements in receptacles.v V

d 'In packaging sensitive devices, it is frequently desirable to pack them as compactly as possible and still fully protect them against vibration and against damage due to hitting against the package itself and against other devices packed with them.- As may be readily appreciated the problem is particularly acute with such breakable equipment as electronic vacuum tubes and the like.

One item of equipment which is used in tremendous quantities today and which particularly demands means for safe transportation and storage is the crystal used in some electronic apparatus. These crystals are enclosed in small holders, having two terminal prongs projecting therefrom.

In packaging a plurality of such devices in a single container, the practice has been to leave sufiicient space between adjacent devices so that one or more may be grasped and removed as needed, the space so left being more than would be requisite merely to keep them from hitting each other or the container due to vibration, etc.

It is, therefore, an object ofthe present invention to provide an improved receptacle to package delicate devices and the like.

It is another object to provide such a receptacle which will securely sustain such devices and protect them against movements, vibration, shock, etc.

It is another object to provide such a receptacle which will carry a plurality of devices in a minimum of space.

It is still another object to provide a container which will include means to allow ready removal of one or more of such devices, even though they be packaged too close together to be conveniently grasped.

It is another object to provide a container adapted to accommodate a plurality of layers of delicate devices, each layer accommodating a plurality of such devices.

The novel features which I believe to be characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claim, but the invention itself will best be understood by reference to the embodiment set forth in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a peramended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. 757) spective view, partly cut away, of a crystal pad{ .tangular envelope 25, of glass or the like, and

is provided with two terminal prongs 21 extendingtherefrom. There is provided a thick pad 2! of felt or like material in which are punched a plurality of pairs of vertically disposed holes 23, each pair being adapted to receive the two terminal prongs 21 of a crystal holder I9.

The holes 23 areof slightly smaller diameter than the terminal prongs 21 so as to make a tight fit therewith. The felt 2| is of greater thickness than the length of said terminal prongs 21 so that when said prongs are in place they do not extend completely through the felt. The pairs of holes 23 may be so close to adjacent pairs that only suificient space is left between envelopes 25 of adjacent crystal holders Hi to keep them from hitting each other during transportation and storage.

There is also provided a rectangular box 29, of wood or other suitable material, which may be provided with a carrying handle 31. The cover 3!. of said box 29 is hingeably secured thereto and may be provided with a lazy strap 33. The inner surface of the cover 3! has secured to it a layer 35 of felt or the like.

In using the packaging means just described, the terminal prongs 21 of a plurality of crystal holders I9 are inserted into the holes 23 of the felt pad 2| until the envelopes 25 thereof rest upon the upper surface of said pad. Said pad 2| is placed into the box 29 and the cover 3| is closed. The felt layer 35 presses down upon the top surfaces of said envelopes 25.

When so packaged, the crystal holders l9 are protected from any amount of vibration, shock, movement, etc., which they may be expected to sustain. In view of the fact that they are positioned in the holes 23 and are firmly wedged between the felt pad 2| and the felt layer 35, they may be very close together and still will not hit each other despite extreme vibrations and movements. In order to remove the crystal holders l9, the felt pad 2| is removed from the box 29 whereupon the pad may be bent and the crystal holders spread apart sufilciently to allow one or more to be withdrawn from the holes 23.

Although, in the illustrated embodiment, but

one pad 2| is shown, it is obvious that the box may be made with sufiicient depth to house any number of pads, one ,above the other. The lower surface of :each pad 2] rests upon the upper surfaces of the crystal holders IQ of the layer below it.

The present invention may be applied to packaging various devices. For instanemit is 133.1- ticularly well adapt-ed for vacuum tubes. A pad may be drilled to receive the tubes upright, that is, with the terminal prongs extending downward into the pad. For such arrangement, there may be either a plurality of individual holes to receive the several prongs or a single larger hole to receive the prongs as a group. Again, where I the glass or metal envelope of the tube is of greater diameter than the base, the holes in the pad may be sufiiciently deep :and large to receive the entire tube base. Where the tube base is oi greater diameter than the tube envelope, the tube may be positioned in the pad upside down, the hole being of a size to receive only the envelope, so that the tube base and terminal prongs remain above the upper surface of the pad;

We :claim:

. .In combination, a plurality of devices, each of which devices includes a body portion and at least one prong portion; anda receptacle ,for said devices, which receptacle includes a container, a pad of flexible and resilient material removably disposed with-in said container, said pad being provided with a plurality of holes, each of which holes is receivable respectively to one of said prong portions and .is of a cross sectional size so as to resiliently grip one of said prong portions positioned therein, .sa-id pad being thicker than the length of said prong portions, a cover for said container, and a layer of resilient inaterial secured to said cover, which layer, when said cover is closed, is substantially parallel to said pad and presses upon the body portions of devices having their prongs positioned in said holes; so that, when said cover is open, said devices may be sustained solely by said pad, and

so that said pad may be readily removed from the container and distorted to cause an increase in the spacing between the body portions of adjacent devices to allow removal of said devices which, when the pad is positioned within the container, are too close together for easy removal.

SIDNEY T. V. COWEN. MORRIS A. SHRIRO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent.

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 638,610 Whitehead Mar. 30, v1886 565,737 Gildersleeve et a1. Aug. 11, 189.6 1,340,660 Lidberg May 18, .1920 1,388,094 Buttigieg Aug. .16, 1921 1,611,515 Aulbach Dec. 1926 1,700,414 Weber Mar. :5, 19.29 1,839,860 Baker Jan. 5,, 1932 1,926,916 Reeves :Sept. 1-2,, 19.33 2,041,303 Shields May 19, 19.36 2,079,850 Gessler May 11,, 193:! 2,192,601 Mattison Mar. 5, 1940 2,282,908 Thompson May 12,, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country .Date

5,502 Great Britain A. D. 1-890 

